Mambo ;)
Thanks for tuning in and sorry it's been a while - safe to say we are keeping very busy over here in Tanzania! It's been a month now already, but in some ways it feels like it's been a lifetime. We have been slowly adjusting to our new home and life in this dynamic area of the world. This hasn't been the easiest task but we are finding resilience, growth, and partnership within every twist and turn of this new adventure.
So... where are we even? Sam joked that this would be the perfect place to hide out if you were a fugitive, no one could find us if they tried haha. So as non-fugitives, please try to find us if needed!
We are in Northern Tanzania, about two hours west of Arusha in Mto Wa Mbu (pronounced mm-toe wah mm-boo, but really fast), living in an area of it called Kigongoni, down Konoike Road, no street address. But it's a new, bigger house the color of Pepto Bismol so you can't miss it!
Our living situation is pretty *minimalist* but we are living large in some ways... note the refrigerator, fan, AND artsy tapestry that Sam brought. Plus plenty of floor space for our yoga/workout sessions!
Kitchen - with a small porch and drying lines out the back door
Our big bed/room and the absolutely essential mosquito net!
(Not pictured: twinkle lights wrapped around the net frame for nightly ambiance)
Each night I check every inch inside the net and tuck it down around the mattress. If even one bugger is in there, we get fully attacked.
See? The daily anti-malaria meds are crucial.
The BEST thing about our living situation is our neighbors. Every day, two to ten children are hanging out just beyond our yard, and greet us excitedly by a repetitive chorus of "Hi Mzungu! Hi Mzungu!" (remember, mzungu = white person). And it's pretty dang adorable, especially now that we have gotten to know one another a bit. They have even started saying "Hi Samwely!" and "Hi Callo!" which is a big accomplishment for our little two-year old cuties. Daily playtime upon leaving/returning home is good for the soul :)
Sam and I have been indulging in some delicious cooking at home to balance the limited food options we have out in the village/at school. We've been getting crafty with making things ourselves, including tortillas, guacamole, ice cream, juice, popcorn... not to mention all the yummy meals we've been cooking up. It's been a fun challenge of creativity with limited availability of ingredients that we normally could find within a mile in the States. I'm getting better at haggling prices of fruits/vegetables at the market too!
Every day, I get up early to meditate/do yoga before the sun is up. We get picked up for school down our road at about 6:50am every morning so in our limited morning time we make instant coffee, a small breakfast, pack snacks for school, and sneak in a kiss as we jet out the door. To a beautiful sunrise, every single morning.
Our "school bus" and driver Sheb!
Our commute is getting muddier and greener every day closer to approaching the rainy season.
There have been a lot of moving pieces and ideas being thrown around since we arrived, and one of our biggest challenges has been identifying our specific roles and objectives that we can realistically accomplish during our short time here. We have found the most fulfillment and feel most helpful working on fewer short term-projects.
The compost bin was revamped by Sam from the first day on site, and is now producing beautiful soil.
We used the newly composted soil with rabbit manure from the school rabbitry project to till beds for planting a local lettuce. It's the best the farm soil has looked yet!
The farm water project is underway, beginning with the digging of a 120,000L water tank. This is being done by a group of local workers, digging by HAND, with shovels and buckets, 17ft down, all day, in the blazing sun, for over a week. And each is paid about the equivalent of $3 a day. This is absolutely mind-boggling to me, yet seems to be completely normal to everyone involved. TIA...
And the heat is REAL. It's the kind of heat that, no matter how much sleep you get or coffee you drink, will drain all the energy from you and turn you into a sweaty zombie every day. The sun is ruthless here, and even two coats of sunscreen sometimes doesn't cut it. Occasionally we catch a break from the heat when a rainstorm comes through, but the humidity it creates after the clouds part is pretty unbearable as well.
But we seem to always have a second wind at the end of the day when students are released from class for sports.
The past couple weeks we helped organize teams and prepare students for UMISSETA, which is like their district tournament. The sports they compete in include football (not the American kind), volleyball, handball, netball, and athletics (essentially track and field). They will also compete in basketball this week, which Sam has been introducing to them since most have never played before.
I have even snuck in a couple short stretch/yoga sessions with the students :)
We have also been reorganizing sports equipment, including the suitcases of donated shoes from the U.S. I have never touched so many shoes in my life...
Sam and I built them a high jump (with papaya tree trunks) and long jump pit for practice!
After all our hard work, watching the kids compete in UMISETTA was exciting and rewarding. We couldn't help but notice how things are done much differently here, which creates some internal struggle, but kids getting hyped about sports competition seems to be universal and is a joy to witness.
Another challenge has been creating community in Mto Wa Mbu. We are either at the school, or with the director (and usually a short-term visitor or two), or see the teachers once a week after school. There is not much of a social hub for us non-locals, and any other travelers in the region are here for a brief time as they pass through for safari. So we have been somewhat lonely in our craving for friendship and don't know what we'd do without each other to at least partially fill that void.
But we have had some pretty amazing opportunities and grow more individually and in our relationship each day. One of the best moments here so far, and possibly of my life, was the opportunity to see Jane Goodall come to speak at a nearby school campus. For only TSH 10,000 (less than $5). And on the way we stopped for drinks at a place that also had camel rides! For only TSH 2,000 (less than $1!)
Needless to say I was instantly stoked to get to ride the first camel I have ever come close to.
And to add to an already amazing day, we got to see this legend herself. Speaking nothing but wisdom and pure truth to a completely mesmerized and silent audience. I could not feel more honored to be in the presence of Dr. Jane while she is still around, and feel so inspired by this angel of a woman and committed spokesperson for our planet and all its species.
Here we are with our crew of RSP staff/volunteers/friends.
Just when we thought our week couldn't get any better, we got the opportunity to join a couple of the RSP visitors on a SAFARI! There were far too many pictures from that to fit in this post, so I'll be putting them up in a separate one soon. But safe to say that was equally life-changing!
There is so much remarkable life happening everywhere here. We have now seen zebras, wildebeest, and giraffes off the side of the road, not even in the safari parks. And here is a picture of Sheb holding a chameleon Sam found in the grass on campus!
Another highlight of our time was our trip out to Moshi, the town at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Around the time I was leaving for Africa, I connected with an old school friend from Boulder who's teaching at an international school in Moshi for a couple years. Will said he had an extra room in his staff housing and that we were welcome anytime. Since Sam and I were going to Moshi that weekend anyways for a race event on Sunday, we decided to make our way out there early and stay with him (a friend!!).
Sam and I took off on a Friday evening after school, hopping a safari rig and local bus to take us along our 4 hour journey. We instantly felt affirmed in our decision when Will picked us up from the bus stop and took us to a delicious Korean restaurant for dinner with a couple of his friends.
We then had some snack at their house (where we met the sweetest dog in the world) and ended the night at a bar! We haven't really "been out" since being in Tanzania, so to be in a bar with other young, international, friendly folks felt like an almost overwhelmingly wonderful treat.
The air was cool, the water was clean, and we even got to sleep without needing a mosquito net. That alone was enough to have us fall in love with Moshi.
The next morning we made some breakfast and explored around a small river near Will's place.
I was met with a feeling of connectedness to nature that I had felt so distant to since arriving in Mto. There are not many places, if any, around Mto to find a sense of solitude in nature. Something that I have taken for granted too often in the U.S. And to have that again as we swam and sunbathed and stretched and stared at the trees and birds and fish... I felt at home again at last. A home that I can find no matter where I am in the world as long as I can be with my gal, mother nature.
Afterwards we walked to a yummy Mexican restaurant called La Fuente to enjoy some beers and burritos! Sam and I were in heaven.
Will gave us a tour of the school, which is celebrating its 50th year anniversary this year. They have a beautiful campus, complete with a swimming pool, which we happily took advantage of that evening.
We went out with Will and some of his friends for dinner at a Tanzanian place and had an early night so we could get up early for the Kilimanjaro Marathon. This annual event takes place in Moshi with a full marathon course, half marathon course, and 5k fun run. Will was tackling the full marathon, while Sam and I opted for the fun run with our 8 students from the school.
I have been giddy about meeting Kilimanjaro since I flew into TZ, and that morning the sunrise hit her peak perfectly as we met up with our running crew. Ellie climbed Kili a few years before she passed, and she was a big time runner, so her spirit was with me that morning in Moshi in a way I haven't felt since her celebration of life. I felt her running alongside me with every step.
Earlier in the week, the fastest boy and girl from each of the 4 grades qualified to come run at the 5k, so we had a full running team that morning. The race course was packed with people old and young, local and international, in and out of shape, and running and walking. The energy was high and the mountain peeked into view every once in a while to push us forward. Her presence and that trip to Moshi was a subtle reminder that there is a bigger source behind it all, to never stop climbing, and in honor of Ellie... to find your mountain.
